Sleepy Cumbrian town hit by spate of drug deaths as cops struggle to stop city gangs invading Barrow-in-Furness

THE death toll in a small Cumbria town has risen to 12 people since December last year, as cops warn "more people will die."

Police say they are struggling to control the rising problem of county lines dealing in Barrow-in-Furness, with gangs arriving from as far away as London to sell heroin and crack cocaine.

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They say dwindling staff numbers mean tackling the drugs gangs is increasingly difficult.

Nick Coughlan from Cumbria Police said: "We will keep on doing what we can with the resources that we've got but inevitably, if the pattern continues, more people will die.

Under county lines dealing, criminals from larger cities, such as London or Manchester, target more rural areas, and send young people up there to courier drugs.

London gangs have been making the 600-mile-round trip to Barrow, exploiting the town's already existing drugs market.

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Mum Fay Johnson told her son Mark first started taking drugs in his teens, but his addiction soon progressed, and he became hooked on Class A substances.

In January, Mark, aged 35, was found dead in his new flat.

Heartbroken Fay said: "They make their own choices and it's only if they listen.

"I miss him so much, I really do."

Four of the deaths have occurred in the same block of flats , where vulnerable residents can easily be preyed upon by the gangs.

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Neighbour Donna Stainton said the problem has ";never been this bad."

In a statement, Cumbria County Council said drug misuse was "extremely complex", and they regularly reviewed drug-related deaths "to improve the support we offer to those who misuse drugs".

"The commissioning of services is also largely dependent on budget - in Cumbria, we have one of the lowest public health budgets per head in the country, and austerity savings of over £200m in a 10-year period have meant that budgets across all council services have been reduced."